Method and system of online gaming organization

ABSTRACT

An aspect of the present invention relates to methods and systems for the organization of online computer network gaming applications. Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing filtered gaming applications in response to a user&#39;s computer game query. Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing computer game recommendations to a user by matching identified computer game characteristics to the user&#39;s computer game preference. Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing game file updates by tracking a user&#39;s actual computer game interactions and updating the user computer game preference file and game file with computer game applications that may match at least one characteristic of the user computer game preference file. Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing the user with targeted advertisement that may be based on the at least one characteristic of the user&#39;s computer game preference file. Embodiments of the present invention relate to aggregating monetized information from the user computer game preference file for at least one user computer game characteristic.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the following commonly owned U.S.Provisional Patent Application, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety: App. No. 60/721,921 filed on Sep. 28, 2005and entitled “ONLINE GAME SEARCH”.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The invention relates to searching and organizing online computer gamesfor a user based on the user's game preferences, and more specifically amethod and system of modifying the computer games that are presented tothe user by monitoring the users gaming behavior and adjusting theuser's game preferences.

2. Description of the Related Art

Computer gaming and online computer gaming is becoming increasinglypopular with users who may play games ranging from solitaire tomulti-user online role-playing games. Presently, a user may use a websearch method (e.g. Google) to find the type of game that is interestingto the user. Even when a game is found, the user may have to determineon their own if the game is of the correct skill level, how much thegame cost, or how is it rated verses other games. The user may spendtime playing the game just to find out over time that it is not the gamequality the user was looking for. The user may get involved in an onlinepoker game and find that it is a high stakes game with minimum bids thatare too high for the user.

There may also be websites that will allow a user access to a collectionof computer games, but the user may not personalize game collection.Additionally, the game websites may not provide game ratings to allowthe user to select a game matching the user's gaming skill without trialand error.

A need exist for a method and system to automate the search method foran online game that may be based on the users skill and likes that maypresent only games that match the users preferences.

SUMMARY

A method and system disclosed herein may include receiving a user'scomputer game query, the query may include indicia of a user'spreferences with respect to computer games; searching at least onedatabase and returning computer games that match the user's query;filtering the returned computer games using at least one user gamepreference; and presenting the filtered returned computer games to theuser. The computer game may be an online poker game.

The computer game query may be a natural language text string, asemantic search, a contextual search, a game type, a game player type,or the like.

The at least one database may be remotely located on a network. Thenetwork may be an Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a peer-to-peer network, or the like.

The at least one database may be locally located on a computer device.The computer device may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet computer, a server, a handheld computer, a cell phone, or thelike.

The user game preference may be a time of day, a length of timeavailable for play, a preferred cost of games, a game's reputation, auser game parameter, a game invitation, a game indicator, an onlineidentity, a game's popularity, a paid keyword, a paid game, or the like.

The method and system may further comprise displaying the presentedfiltered games in a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI may presentthe filtered games in a predefined order based on user game preference,may presents the filtered games in a user defined order, or the like.

A method and system disclosed herein may include identifying at leastone computer game from a user's computer game query; providing acomputer game recommendation for each identified computer game bymatching the identified computer game characteristics to a user'scomputer game preference; and presenting the identified computer gamewith the computer game recommendations to the user. The computer gamemay be an online poker game.

The computer game query may be a natural language text string, asemantic search, a contextual search, a game type, a game player type,or the like.

The game recommendation may be a number rating, a letter rating, a starrating, an alphanumeric rating, or the like.

The computer game characteristic may be the computer game time, a timerequired to play the computer game, a cost of the computer game, thecomputer game's reputation, an invitation to play the computer game, atype of computer game, the computer game's popularity, a paid computergame, a free computer game, or the like.

The user game preference may be a time of day, a length of timeavailable for play, a preferred cost of computer games, a computergame's reputation, a user computer game parameter, a computer gameinvitation, a computer game indicator, an online identity, a computergame's popularity, a paid keyword, a paid computer game, or the like.

A method and system disclosed herein may include providing a game filestoring computer game applications that may match at least onecharacteristic of a user computer game preference file; tracking auser's actual computer game interactions; modifying the user computergame preference file using the tracked user interactions; and updatingthe game file with computer game applications that match at least onecharacteristic of the modified user computer game preference file. Thecomputer game may be an online poker game.

The computer game preference file characteristic may be a preferredcomputer game, a user's preferred computer game type, a time of day, alength of time available for play, a computer game preferred cost, acomputer game desired reputation, at least one computer game parameter,an acceptable computer game invitation, at least one type computer gameindicator, a user's online identity, a desired computer game popularity,a paid keyword, or the like.

The stored computer game application may be a result of a network searchfor computer games matching at least one characteristic of the usercomputer game preference file. The network may be an Internet, a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a peer-to-peer network,or the like.

The stored computer game application may be a result of a computerdevice search for computer games matching at least one characteristic ofthe user computer game preference file. The computer device may be adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a server, ahandheld computer, a cell phone, or the like.

The user's actual computer game interaction may be the user playing acomputer game, the user selecting a computer game, a number of times theuser plays the computer game, an amount of time the user plays acomputer game, an amount of points the user scores playing a computergame, an amount of money the user wins playing a computer game, anadvertisement the user views.

The modification of the user computer game preference file may replaceexisting user preference information, may amend existing user preferenceinformation, may delete existing user preference information, may modifyexisting data within the user preference information, or the like.

The at least one updated computer game application may be a result of anetwork search for computer games matching at least one characteristicof the user updated computer game preference file. The network may be anInternet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), apeer-to-peer network, or the like.

The at least one updated computer game application may be a result of acomputer device search for computer games matching at least onecharacteristic of the user updated computer game preference file. Thecomputer device may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a server, a handheld computer, a cell phone, or the like.

A method and system disclosed herein may include providing a usercomputer game preference file that may store at least one user computergame playing characteristic; monitoring the behavior of the at least oneof a user's computer game playing characteristics while the user plays acomputer game; modifying the at least one characteristic of the usercomputer game preference file to match the user's monitored game playingcharacteristics; and presenting to the user a targeted advertisementbased on the at least one characteristic of the user computer gamepreference file. The computer game may be an online poker game.

The computer game preference characteristic may be a preferred computergame, a user's preferred computer game type, a time of day, a length oftime available for play, a computer game preferred cost, a computer gamedesired reputation, at least one computer game parameter, an acceptablecomputer game invitation, at least one type of computer game indicator,a user's online identity, a desired computer game popularity, a paidkeyword, or the like.

The modification of the user computer game preference file may replaceexisting user preference information, may amend existing user preferenceinformation, may delete existing user preference information, maymodifie existing data within the user preference information, or thelike.

The targeted advertisement may be a computer game advertisement, acomputer game promotion, a computer game website advertisement, acomputer game merchandise advertisement, or the like.

A method and system disclosed herein may include providing a usercomputer game preference file that may store at least one user computergame playing characteristic; monitoring the behavior of at least one ofthe user's computer game playing characteristics while the user plays acomputer game; modifying the at least one characteristic of the usercomputer game preference file to match the user's monitored game playingcharacteristics; and aggregating monetizing information from the usercomputer game preference file for the at least one user computer gamecharacteristic. The computer game may be an online poker game.

The computer game preference characteristic may be a preferred computergame, a user's preferred computer game type, a time of day, a length oftime available for play, a computer game preferred cost, a computer gamedesired reputation, at least one computer game parameter, an acceptablecomputer game invitation, at least one of type computer game indicator,a user's online identity, a desired computer game popularity, a paidkeyword, or the like.

The modification of the user computer game preference may file replaceexisting user preference information, may amend existing user preferenceinformation, may delete existing user preference information, may modifyexisting data within the user preference information, or the like.

The aggregation of monetized information may be provided to a computergame agency system, an affiliate system for revenue sharing with gamesites, for merchandizing of a game product to the user, for a usersubscription system, or the like.

These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages ofthe present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and thedrawings. All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated intheir entirety by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention and the following detailed description of certainembodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall schematic of a game search process.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a intelligent game channel guideinterface.

FIG. 3 illustrates a high level schematic of the parameter interactionsthat are used to create an intelligent game channel guide.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process flow of different aspects of populating anintelligent channel guide.

FIG. 5 illustrates an overview of an online game portal.

FIG. 6 illustrates an overview of a game search system and interactionwith a universe of connected computer devices.

FIG. 7 illustrates an overview of a game search method involvinginteraction with a universe of connected computer devices.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of the architecture of the gameorganizing application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An aspect of the present invention relates to a gaming softwareapplication using a client/server network architecture. The games thatmay be played on the gaming software application may reside on anycomputer device that may be connected to the network. In certainembodiments, the gaming software application may be used to search overa network for games that match a user's interest and provide a listingof all games that match the user's interest. In an embodiment, theserver application may provide overall control of the gaming applicationand may include a search engine, a match engine, and a gameinfrastructure. In an embodiment, the client application may provideusers access to the gaming software application and may include a gameguide that may provide users with a list of all games that match theirinterests. In embodiments, the gaming software application may alsoinclude file structures for storing users' profile information andgaming information. Another aspect of the gaming software applicationrelates to the continual updating of the list of games that may be ofinterest to the users. In embodiments, a network crawler may access theusers' game profiles and search the connected network computer devicesfor games matching the users' profiles; the names of the games or linksto the games may be saved to a game index. In embodiments, a searchengine may search the game index based on users' search criteria.

Referring to FIG. 1, a high level schematic of a game search and indexsystem 100 is illustrated. The game search and index system 100 may becapable of searching through a network to locate a software generatedgame of interest to the user. The game search and index system 100 maycreate and/or maintain an online game index 102 that may be used toindex games resulting from the online search for games of interest. Theonline game search index 102 may be created using a web crawler, forexample, to search the web for games that may be similar to gamesspecified by a user. At the beginning of the indexing process, a usermay define the games that the user would like to find on a network, theonline game search web crawler may use a user personal filter to assistin the collection of games, or related history or other informationrelating to the user may be used to facilitate the gathering of games(e.g. the user's browser history may serve as a initial point forstarting the game search). Over time, the web crawler may monitor theuser's history, performance or behavior to determine if other gamingsites may be of interest (e.g. the browser history may be monitored fornewly visited sites). The web crawler may continue to update the onlinegame search index 102 based on new sites being visited, new gamesplayed, or based, at least in part, on other historical or behavioralinformation.

In a user defined search, the user may define game targets by keywords,game specific indicators, popular type of game, game rating, gamereputation, game genre or the like. The web crawler may then search forgames matching or related to the search criteria. The online game searchindex 102 may be maintained on the users computer device, it may bemaintained on an online gaming server that may be located on a differentcomputer device at a remote location or it may be located at anotherclient or sever location, for example. The user may also use naturallanguage search engines, keyword search engines, or other search enginesin the process of looking for games. The user may also indicate gameindicators, popularity, players, level, cost, reward, ratings, or otherparameters in the search process.

During the search process, sponsors of gaming sites, games, advertisersor the like may interact with the search and the presentation ofresults. For example, the user may initiate a search and the search mayinvolve keywords. The keywords may be auctioned in a sponsorship auctionwith the winners of the auction being permitted to post their content(e.g. advertisement, game, game site) with the search results presentedto the user.

Similar to the open network search, after an online game search index102 may have been created, the user may be able to perform a search ofthe available games within the index. In embodiments, the user may beable to use search facility 122 to perform a semantic, contextual orother form of search of the index of games. In the event a game is notlocated in the index, the online game search request may search onlineto find games matching the user's request. The index itself may begenerated by the search facility 122.

The search facility 122 may use any number of search methodologiesincluding page rank, game rank, keyword matching and the like. Inembodiments, the search facility 122 may use a user's natural languagegame search request 104A. A natural language keyword translator 104A mayinterpret the natural language search request in an effort to match alayer of the search. The layers of the search may be a natural languagequery 104A, keyword match 104B, game indicator match 104C, popularitymatch 104D, player parameter match 104E, paid search keyword match 104F,or game rating reputation match 104G.

The game indicator match 104C may find games that match the type of gamethe user is looking to play through a matching of game indicators ordescriptions (e.g Poker game). The game indicator match 104C mayinteract with an online game specific cue 124 that may find games thatmeet the user's indicators. Once the indicators are identified, the usermay be presented with an option to join a game that is presentlyforming, already in progress, or to be formed at a later point in time.

The popularity match 104D may match a game's popularity with the user'srequest. The game may not be an exact match with the user's request anda match may be created for the user to consider. The type of match maybe given an appropriate user rating based on the level of matching withthe users request for a game.

The player parameter match 104E may match the user request for gamesbased on a user's settings for time of the game, cost of entry for thegame, rewards, pot amounts, number of players available, number ofplayers already joined, number of players already signed up, projectedduration of the game, rules within a game, or other preferences the usermay set. The player parameter match 104E may interact with thepreferences 128 settings for determination of the user's gamepreferences.

The paid search keyword match 104F may match a user's gaming requestwith a paid gaming advertisement, paid game, paid game site. The paidgaming advertisement may interact with an e-commerce system and/orauction system. For example, a game site may pay to be part of a user'sonline game search index 102.

The game rating reputation match 104G may provide a game match based onthe rating or reputation a game may have. The game site may provide amaturity rating or may provide a rating of the game difficulty. The gamesite reputation may be determined based on the site quality,reliability, trustworthiness, user feedback, or third party evaluations.In embodiments, a listing or database of website reputations may bemaintained through the online game index.

One or more of the layers of matching may be used to create a game guide130 that may contain a listing of gaming sites or games that match theparameters of the user's search. The game guide 130 may provide aranking of the games that meet the users online game search 122 and mayprovide a ranking, game name, game description, game rating, gameschedule, game level, cost of the game, or other like information. Thisinterface may allow the user to make an informed decision on which gameto play, which site to enter, or the like.

In embodiments, the game index indexes games, game sites, gameinformation and the like through referencing the location of thecontent. For example, the search process may produce twenty interestingresults and the results may be cataloged in the index. The index maycontain hyperlinks to the games, or the games themselves may bedownloaded to a client associated with the user so he can gain access tothe game.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to presenting indexedgame information to a user through a graphical user interface.Information relating to the games, game sites and the like collectedthrough the online search may be presented in a way that allows the userto select and/or interact with games, game sites, or gaming information.Referring to FIG. 2, an embodiment of an game guide interface 130 isshown. The game guide interface 130 may be associated with the gameindex 102. The game guide 130 may provide information relating to thecollected game information and presented in categories such as a matchquality 200, a game name 202, a game description 204, a game rating 208,a game schedule 210, a game level 212, a cost 214, compatible platform,or other related information. The game population associated with theindex may be presented in an order that may use any of these informationlistings or categories. The match quality 200 may provide a ratingsystem based on a number of stars, a ratings number, or other indicationof rating on a predetermined scale. The game information may also besegmented by the playing platform such as mobile device, personalcomputer, gaming platform or the like. The game information may also besegmented by type of interaction, such as broadband, dial up, beepernetwork, Bluetooth or other connection type. Game information may alsobe broken up into online interactive games and downloadable games, forexample.

There may be hyperlinks, links, references and the like to the games inthe populated list presented in the game guide 130. A user may be ableto select a hyperlink to open up an associated website or go directly toa game for example.

An option window 218 may be provided to allow the user further controlover the game guide 130. In embodiments, the option window may be usedto invite players, enter a number of players, similar skill, stakes,time, or day for a proposed game arrangement. The user may be able toselect one or a combination of options to modify the order the populatedgames are displayed in the game guide 130.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method used in the population of the game guide130. The game guide 130 may be populated with references from numeroussources. This embodiment shows the game guide 130 being populatedthrough a matching engine 104. The matching engine 104 may be part ofthe search engine 122 or fed from the search engine 122. In addition,the matching engine 104 may be operated in association with the index102 or fed from the index 102. There may be a plurality of matchingengines 104 (e.g. each directed to a particular search) feeding the gameguide 130. A reputation system 314, including games the user previouslyplayed and/or games others have played and rated, may feed the gameguide 130.

There may be other influences on the population of the game guide 130that may provide indexing/ordering information and if a site is secureand affordable. A reputation system 300 may provide a list of games andplayers of that game; this information may provide input into the gameguide 130 to be matched with the user's preferences. The reputationsystem 300 may also be independently browsed by the user to determinewhat games may be in progress and which games may be joined.

The reputation system 300 may also contain a listing of games that ismatched to the user's preferences and the online game search 122. Theinformation in the reputation system 300 may contain integration ofonline and off line data that may include all games in the user'sinterest. The reputation system 300 may provide a “bubble gum” carddisplay that may reflect a player's statistics for any of the games inthe reputation system 300, display information such as game results,rating, skill level, reputation, or winnings may be shown.

Also influencing the population and indexing of the game guide 130 maybe the player profile/preference 302, player history tracker 304, sitesecurity 308, commerce system 310, and an e-wallet system 312. One ormore of these additional influences may provide information that mayinfluence the games displayed in the game guide 130. These influencesmay provide an input into the rating each game is provided.

The player profile/preference may be the users profile or preference orthe profile and preferences of the other players of the game. The onlinegame method and system 100 may determine an overall average of thepreference of the players already in the game and provide an input tothe game guide 130. In an embodiment, the player profile/preferenceservice may continue to update information as the game progresses, ifthe overall average of the preferences changes, the service may providea message to the user stating the change in profile/preference.

The player history tracker 304 may provide an influence to the gameguide 130 to indicate if a user has played this game in the past and theuser's game performance.

The security 308 of the game site may be determined and provide aninfluence to the game guide 130. In an embodiment, game sites with lowsecurity ratings may be omitted from the game guide 130 population.

The e-commerce system 310 of the game site may influence the game guide130 by the type of payment required for a game or the charge rates thatmay be required based on time or other parameter.

The e-wallet 312 may influence the game guide 130 by comparing anyspending limits the user may have in the preferences settings or theamount of money that is in an account as compared to the charges for acertain game. In an embodiment, if a poker game requires a startingpayment of $100.00 with minimum betting requirements and the user onlyhas $104.00 in an accessible debit account, the game may be omitted fromthe game guide 130, or flagged as over limit.

FIG. 4 illustrates a game search system process 400. In thisillustrative embodiment, criteria for a game search may be enteredthrough the online game search index 102 and this criterion may in turnbe feed into the search engine 122 where certain matching layers 104 maybe employed. A reputation system 300 may also be used in the process ofaggregating game results and the information from the search process,including reputation based information may be used to populate the gameguide 130.

A game site e-commerce system 310, which may include an advertisingsystem, may provide input into the game collection process. Thee-commerce system 310 may provide information such as targetedadvertising, promotions, agency systems for delivering players to a gamesite, affiliate systems for revenue sharing and fees, affiliateprograms, revenue sharing systems with game site owners, paymentmethods, merchandising ancillary products, data mining systems,subscription systems, and certification systems. All of these systems orcosts may be input into the search process and may influence the gamesthat populate the game guide 130.

The security system 308 may provide input into the overall game searchprocess by providing a security rating of the game site. The securitysystem 308 rating may be determined by information such as reputation,user reviews, and game site virus systems in the process.

The game search process may interact with the web continually,periodically, at predetermined intervals, during idle periods or atother times looking for new games, game sites and the like. Newlylocated games, game sites and the like may be added to the online gamesearch index 102.

Once the game guide 130 is populated, the user may be presented withseveral choices: go to a games section 414, play a game 418, get gameinformation 420 or perform some other function. Each of these choicesmay result in a player experience tracking process. The tracking processmay involve tracking likes and dislikes or it may involve tracking thelevel and performance of the game play. For example, the process mayinvolve tracking the performance of the user during game play to assessthe proper level of the user. If the user is assessed at an improperlevel, more appropriate level games may be recommended and/orinstructions may be provided. The instructions may be provided through asoftware teaching program adapted to track performance and makesuggestions on how the user may get better.

Different ratings may be provided by a user playing a game to assess theexperience of the user. The amount of time a user spent playing a gamemay be used inference how well the user liked his experience in thegame. For example, the longer a user plays a game the higher the ratingthe game may be get. If a game is only briefly encountered, the game mayget a low rating.

Referring to FIG. 5, an overview of the game portal 500 is shown. Thegame portal 500 may be adapted to allow a user's computer device tointeract with game sites, games, other gamers and associated facilities.The game portal 500 may allow access to the online game search index102, online game search 122, match layers 104, game guide 130, tracking502, learn player behavior 504, commerce system 310, advertisementinsertion 510, paid search 512, e-wallet 312, affiliate systems 518,and/or tournaments/events 520.

Tracking as discussed in FIG. 4 may involve how the user interacts witha game site. The longer a user plays may be a good indicator and thisinformation may be stored in the users preferences/behavior settings.

An information system may be part of the game portal 500 that mayprovide game information 522, game reviews 524, game cheat codes 528,game chat groups 530, game product search 532, and news and informationrelated to gaming. This information may be similar to informationobtained through a gaming magazine or gaming sites that providedifferent aspects of the gaming industry. The portal may be personalizedto gather or link to user relevant information. For example, the systemmay have assessed the behavior of the user and understand that the userplays poker predominantly, so the links and/or information gathered mayrelated predominantly to poker.

FIG. 6 illustrates a game search process. The connected computer devices600 may be connected through the World Wide Web with LANs, WANs,Internet, intranets, extranets and the like. The connected devices maybe associated with or capable of associating with online games 602. Theonline and connected games 602 may interact with the online game searchindex 102 with the web crawler 704 accessing the user's preferences tosearch the online and connected games 602 for games that may be ofinterest. This interaction between the online game search index 102 andthe online and connected games may be an ongoing process that iscontinually, periodically or otherwise updating. In embodiments, thisupdating process may mean that every time a user accesses the game guide130, there may be a different game listing from the previous access.

With the updating of the online game search index 102, where games maybe added or removed, the process flow may progress through thepreviously discussed steps of online game search 122, matching layerengines 104, reputation system 300, and/or to populate the game guide130. As discussed previously, the game commerce system 310 may provideadditional influence on the intelligent game channel guide 128 by addingadditional game ratings base on the overall cost of the game site or thesystem may provide other functions.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, the game portal 500 may provide access for theonline game search 102, game matching layers 104, reputation system 300,intelligent game channel guide 220 and the game commerce system. Thegame portal 500 may provide these systems and engines with connectionsto information that may be needed by the system or engine for gameselection at each step of the process. At the same time, the gamecommunity 604 may be providing information that may affect the game siteselection process by providing information such as user reviews, gamenews, or game background. This information may be added to the selectionprocess and may omit a game from making the final game population or mayaffect the games rating.

FIG. 7 illustrates an online search system involving player behaviorsearching. In this embodiment, game index criteria 702 may be generatedand used to feed a web crawler 704. The web crawler 704 (e.g. similar tothat described in connection with other embodiments herein) may collectsearch results and populate an online game index 102. Other searchengines 122 may also feed the online game index 102. In the course ofselecting games, a user may use a matching engine 104 (i.e. a specialsearch engine) to generate more search results 128. For example, thematching criteria may be similar to that shown in connection withmatching criteria 724 and 728. The selection of search results 128 maybe monitored to gauge player behavior 714. The search results 128 mayalso be used to generate or update a player profile 720. The playerprofile 720 may also be generated through the search engine 122 orthrough other related information. The search results 128 and the playerbehavior 714 may be used to generate and update a recommendation engine718.

In FIG. 8, aspects of the gaming application pertaining to gamingapplication component connectivity are illustrated. As depicted in FIG.8, an embodiment of the gaming application may communicate through anetwork 800 or a direct component connection, or it may be one componentexecuting on a server or a client. At a high level, embodiments of thegaming application may include a number of components that may providethe aspects of the invention; some of the components may containadditional components, modules, or services. For example, components ofthe gaming application may include a gaming server 802, a client browser810, the game index 102, a profile file 804, a sponsor system 812, anetwork 800, and the like.

In embodiments, the gaming application may provide the user withcapability to search, find, and play games. The games may be any type ofgame that may be played on a computer device, such as card games, boardgames, word games, mobile games, action games, role-playing games,sports, strategy/tactical games, arcade games, simulation games, and thelike, as will be described in more detail below. The network 800 may beany network or type of network to which a user's computer device may beconnected, such as a WAN, a LAN, an intranet, an Internet, apeer-to-peer network, or the like. The games may reside on any computerdevice that is connected to the same network as the user's computerdevice, such as the user's own computer device, another computer device,a server, a game console, or the like.

Gaming applications as depicted in FIG. 8 may be arranged using avariety of architectures. In certain embodiments, the gaming applicationmay be a distributed system with the different components located ondifferent computer devices that may be connected to each other eitherdirectly or through the network 800. Alternatively, some of thecomponents may be located on the same computer device that may beconnected to another computer. In addition, available components of thegaming application may include a plurality of additional modules orservices. For example, the gaming server 802 may include additionalmodules such as the search engine 122, the match engine 104, and a gameinfrastructure 820.

In an embodiment, for example, the game index 102 and a profile file 804may be included as part of the gaming server on one computer device. Inanother embodiment, the gaming server 802, game index 102, profile file804, and game guide 130 may all be located on one computer device. Inanother embodiment, it is understood that many of the gaming applicationcomponents may be located on the same computer device, or the componentsmay be directly connected without using a network 800.

As one example of architecture that may be employed by the gamingapplications depicted in FIG. 8, a game server 802 may accessinformation stored on other remotely located computer devices; thestored information may be located on the profile file 804, game index102, or the like. In this embodiment, a client browser 810 applicationmay provide access to the game guide 130 that may be located on theclient computer device; the game guide 130 may be a user interface toprovide access to online games. In this embodiment, all of the differentgaming application components may be remotely located and may interfacewith each other through the network 800 using network paths 824, 828,830, and 832.

For example, the direct connection of components may use connections834, 838, 840, and 842 to provide access to the different components.The direct connections may allow the different gaming applicationcomponents to function as one computer device; the direct connectionsmay be provided by a LAN, WAN, or the like.

As another example of architecture that may be employed by the gamingapplications depicted in FIG. 8, all of the components may be located onone computer device; the components may include the gaming server 802,game index 102, game guide 130, and profile file 804. The one computerdevice may act as a server that may be connected to the network 800;users may be able to connect to the gaming application using theirclient browser 810. In this example, the client browser may provide onlyuser access to the gaming application without any additional gamingcomponents on the client device.

A person knowledgeable in the art would understand that the gamingapplication architecture may have many different implementations andstill provide the same aspects of the game application invention.

Components of game applications illustrated in FIG. 8 may include, incertain embodiments, a gaming server 802, the profile file 804, theclient browser 810, and the game index 102. Each component will bedescribed in more detail, with reference to FIG. 8.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the gaming server 802 may contain sub-componentssuch as the search engine 122, the match engine 104, a gameinfrastructure 820, and the like. These sub-components may exchangeinformation and may provide an information flow that may begin with auser's game search and continue to the creation of a listing of gamesthat match the user's profile. In FIG. 8, these components are shown asbeing within the gaming server 802, but it should be understood that thecomponents may be connected computer devices as part of a distributedgaming server 802; the connections may be provided by a LAN, WAN, or thelike. The gaming server 802 may coordinate the connected components, andtherefore the connected gaming server 802 may provide an interface as asingle server device.

Within the gaming server 802 there may be an information process flowfrom the search engine 122 to the match engine 104, and then to the gameinfrastructure 820. During the information flow, the varioussub-components may interact with other game application components suchas the profile file 804, the game index 102, or the game guide 130. Thecomponent interaction may use the previously discussed network (824,828, 830, 832, and/or 848) or direct connections (834, 838, 840, 842,and/or 844).

Within the gaming server 802, the information flow may begin with thesearch engine 122 that provides the game search capability to the gamingapplication. The search engine 122 may include the network crawler 704,a search user interface 852, a user behavior service 854, and the like.

In an embodiment, the search engine 122 network crawler 704 may accessuser information from the profile file 804 to determine the user's pastgame playing behavior. With the user's gaming behavior accessed, thenetwork crawler 704 may access the network 800 to find all games thatmatch the profile file 804 parameters; the list of matching games may bestored in the game index 102 for later searching by the search engine122. In an embodiment, the network crawler 704 may continually updatethe game listing in the game index 102.

In an embodiment, the user may initiate a game search by making aconnection between the user's client browser 810 and the search engine122 user interface 852. The user may be able to input search queriesinto the search user interface 852 to initiate a search for a matchinggame or game type on a connected device. The search engine 122 behaviorservice 854 may combine the user's search parameters from the userinterface 852 with the user's profile information from the profile file804. The search engine 122 may use the combined search parameters andbehavior information to search the game index 102 for all games matchingthe user's game request. The game index 102 may have been previouslyupdated with a game listing by the network crawler 704 based on theuser's game profile and game history. The search of the game index 102may result in a listing of all games matching the user's game query. Theresulting game listing may be passed to the matching engine 104 to bereviewed and matched with other parameters.

In an embodiment, the player behavior service 854 may be a backgroundservice that may continually monitor the user's gaming activities tomaintain the user's profile of game or game type. The behavior service854 may maintain at least one file that contains the user's gamingprofile based on observed player gaming behavior. Initially the profilefiles 804 may contain user input information that may relate to game andgame types that the user likes to play. In an embodiment, the user mayprovide a list of games played previously or a list of the type of gamespreferred (e.g. simulations or card games). The user may also input anypreferences about the time of day for games, the length of timeavailable for play, the preferred cost of games, and the like. Thisinitial information may also be provided to the network crawler 704 ofthe search engine 122 to allow searching for games based on the user'sprofile. The information may be maintained in a file, database, table,relational database XML, ASCII file, flat file, or the like.

As the user plays games using the gaming application, the playerbehavior service 854 may monitor the activities of the user's gaming.The player behavior service 854 may monitor the games or types of gamesplayed, the length of time the game is played, the time of day the gameis played, the cost of the game, or the like, and the service may updatethe user profile file 804. The user behavior service 854 may maintaindifferent user files for each type of game the user plays, or there maybe one file for all the game types. For example, the player may preferfree simulation games but also may prefer a high stakes poker game;therefore, the behavior service 854 may save this information indifferent game files. In this manner, as the user's game preferencechanges over time, the gaming application may adjust by modifying theuser profile; thus new user game searches may include the new type ofgames played by the user without the user having to make changesmanually. The user may also be able to manually update the profile file804 by adding or deleting a game, a game type, or other gaminginformation.

The player behavior service 854 may provide information to the searchengine 122 when a user initiates a search for a game. The behaviorservice 854 may provide the latest profile of the type of game for whichthe user is searching.

The player behavior service 854 may provide information about the finalselected games and may provide for game ranking or filtering. Forexample, after the game search and matching is completed, the servicemay create an unranked listing of matching games. The player behaviorservice 854 may provide information about the final search results andadd the player's personal preferences to the list; therefore the gamesmay be ranked according to the user's personal game preferences. Forexample, the user may have searched for poker games, and a significantlist of available games may be returned. The player's preferenceprovided by the player profile file 804 may contain a preference forTexas Hold'em with maximum bidding of $100 and games starting after 8pm. This information may provide for filtering or ranking of the gamesreturned to the user.

The player behavior system 854 may interact with a number of othergaming application systems such as the player profile file 804, therecommend engine 858, the search results 874 in the game guide 130, orthe like. The player behavior system 854 may track the user's gamingactivities such as games played, game scores, game sites visited, moneypaid to games, time spent playing games, and the like. In an embodiment,as the user plays games or visits gaming sites, the player behaviorsystem 854 may track the gaming activities and may modify the user'sprofile file 804.

In embodiments, the matching engine 104 of the gaming server 802 mayprovide game filtering or matching capability to the gaming application.The matching engine 104 may include a recommendation service 858, thereputation service 300, a sponsorship service 862, or the like. In anembodiment, the matching engine 104 may receive the game listing fromthe search engine 122 and filter the list according to a user profileobtained from the profile file 804, the game recommendation 858, thegame reputation 300, the game sponsorship 862, or the like. In anembodiment, the game list may flow through each of the services for gamefiltering based on predetermined parameters; the predeterminedparameters may be stored in the profile file 804. For example, therecommendation service 858 may filter the game list based on the ratingother users have given a certain game; a recommendation below a certainthreshold may be used to exclude games from the game listing.

Game matching may be a method of matching user specific game preferenceswith a received total set of games resulting from a user search; thematching may output only a list of search results that meet certain userpreferences. The matching engine 104 may control the matching processthat may match user specific criteria or other criteria with the totalset of games found during the user initiated search. There may be aplurality of matching filters or layers that combined may comprise theentire set of rules for matching the user preferences with the total setof found games. The result may be a sub-set of games that may beappropriate matches with the game or game type for which the user issearching. Matching may be with, but not limited to, game reputation,user parameters, user preference, game invitation, game indicator,online identity, game popularity, paid keyword, paid gaming, or thelike. The game matching may output to a search results file from whichthe user may be able to select a game to play. The full game set thatresulted from the user search already may have been filtered byinformation from the player profile files 804, and the matching mayprovide an additional layer of filtering of the full set listing ofgames.

The game matching may provide ranking information about the set of gamesthat resulted from the user's game search. The set of games may beprovided with additional information about the best matches of games forthe user. For example, a game may get a favorable ranking for having agood reputation with other users, being popular, and having othercurrent user-players whose profiles are similar to those of the user.

The recommend system 858 of the match engine 104 may provide gamerecommendation information to the game guide 130 that may be used aspart of the game rating or game quality values. The recommend system 858may provide information by interfacing with at least one of thefollowing kinds of information: user's profile, history tracker, gamesecurity, game e-commerce requirements, e-wallet information, layers ofmatching, games available, other users playing a game, or the like.

For example, the recommend system 858 may review the amount of fundsavailable in the user's e-wallet account to determine whether the useris able to pay for a game. Using this example, if a user has $200 in ane-wallet account used to pay for games, and the user wishes to play anonline poker game with max bids of $100, the game may get a low ratingor match quality because the user may not be able to play long. In anembodiment, the gaming application may provide an indication to a userthat the e-wallet does not have sufficient funds to play a game, or thegaming application may give the user notice to put more money into thee-wallet before playing a game.

As another example, the recommend system 858 may review the games todetermine whether a game is still accepting players or is closed. Therecommend system 858 may review the other players already in the gamefor skill or other parameter and match the other players' parameters tothe user's parameters. The recommend system 858 may provide informationfor the game rating or match quality based on how well the user matcheswith the players already in the game.

The game reputation 300 match performed by the match engine 104 maymatch reputations of the full game set with the game's reputation; thereputation value may be created by the combined user ratings of thegame, industry opinion of the game, magazine ratings of the game, thenumber of other users wanting to play the game, the average skill levelof the other users of the game, or the like.

A player parameter match may match the full game set with the matchingskill levels of the other players in the game, game requirements,economics of the game, or other parameters that may be defined by theuser.

A preference match may match the full game set with a ranking of thegame or game site. The ranking may be based on user opinions of the gameor site, magazine ratings of the game or site, the number of players onthe game or site, money required to play the game, the amount of moneythe game pays out, or the like.

An invitation match may match the full game set with an electronicinvitation to play a game; the invitation may be from a messengerprogram or by email. The invitation match may base the match on thenumber of other users invited, the game parameters, the other users'parameters, or the like.

A game indicator match may match the full game set during the ad hocforming of a tournament. The ad hoc tournament may be formed by the gameapplication matching similar users who may be searching for the sametype of game. The user may be notified in the search listing that the adhoc tournament may be forming.

An online identity match may match the full game set with the identityof other users online or already playing a game. The user's parametersmay be matched with the other players' capability parameters to findgames with compatible players.

A popularity match may match the full game set with the game'spopularity; the popularity may be based on the number of users playingthe game, the number of users that have played the game over a period oftime, industry information about the game, or the like.

A paid keyword match may match a search keyword with keywords providedby an enterprise for directing the game set to a particular game. Thepaid keywords may be provided by an affiliate or an agency to assure theaffiliate or agency's game will be included in the final search results.Games that are in the final search results may have an indication thatthe game is a result of a paid keyword match.

The reputation system 300 may provide information about the reputationof games or game sites such as game quality, game or game sitereliability, trustworthiness, user feedback, 3^(rd) party evaluations,and the like. The reputation system 300 may provide information usedduring the game matching process to match the user's requirements andparameters with the reputation parameters of the game or game site. Thereputation system 300 may compare at least one of the user's profilevalues to the searched game or game site. The reputation system 300 mayattempt to match as many of the user's profile or preference values aspossible to the game or game site. The reputation may also include thereputation of gaming leagues.

The reputation system 300 may provide a window of information about andstatistics of the players in a game. In an embodiment, the window ofinformation and statistics may be presented in the form of a“bubble-gum” card with information such as game results, ratings, skilllevel, reputation, winnings, and the like. The user may be able todisplay the window of information and statistics on any of the playersin the game. The reputation system 300 may also show the information andstatistics of the user compared to those of any of the players in thegame or the average player in the game.

The reputation system 300 may integrate both offline and onlineinformation on a game. Over time the gaming application may gatherinformation about games in an offline file that may include informationsuch as the average number of players; the quality, statistics, andreputations of players; and the like. This offline information may beintegrated with the current online information, and the information maybe available to the user for viewing. This information may be helpful tothe user in choosing which game to select.

The reputation system 300 of the match engine 104 may determine gamingsecurity of the game or game site to determine if the game or game siteis operating securely. The security may be determined by the gametrustworthiness, site security, other site links, age of the site,origin of the site, and the like. In an embodiment, a game or game sitewith a low security rating may receive a low game rating or matchquality. The reputation system 300 may determine the type of e-commercethe game or game site may have in order to determine the reliability ofreceiving money from the user. In an embodiment, a game or game sitewith a non-reliable e-commerce system may get a low game rating or matchquality.

The reputation security system 300 may insure player security as theuser accesses games or game sites. The reputation security system 300may provide an alert or warning to inform the user of any possiblesecurity threats from the game or game site. The user may be able todetermine whether the game should be played based on the security threatlevel. The reputation security system 300 may prevent access to a gameor game site if the threat level is above a set threshold level. Thereputation security system 300 may verify the game or game site'ssecurity by checking the site's trustworthiness, the amount of time thesite has been active, the origin of the site, 3^(rd) party informationabout the site, industry information about the site, game applicationinformation about the site, or the like.

The reputation security system 300 may also provide a privacy systemthat may allow the user to prevent other players from seeing the user'sinformation. The privacy system may not show user information based on auser setting in the user's profile or preferences, the security level ofthe game site, the type of information the game site is seeking, or thelike. The user or the reputation security system 300 may be able toprevent some or all of the user's information from being shown to otherplayers.

In an embodiment, the reputation service 300 may use a game'spredetermined reputation as a security filter to exclude the game fromthe game listing. The game reputation security may be based on thelength of time the game site has been available, the origin of the gamesite, the e-commerce used, or the like. The game reputation security maybe predetermined by the security information stored in a file, or thesecurity reputation may be determined in real time using securityparameters. The reputation service 300 may access the game site throughthe network 800 to determine the game's security reputation.

In an embodiment, the match engine 104 sponsorship engine 862 may use anetwork 800 connection to interface with a sponsor 812 to determine if agame is still an actively sponsored game. In an embodiment, a sponsoredgame that is no longer active may be removed from the game listing.

In an embodiment, the result of the game listing flowing through each ofthe match engine 104 filters may result in a modified game listing thatmeets requirements of the user's game parameters, game reputation, gamerecommendation, and the like. In an embodiment, games that are removedfrom the game listing may not be available to the user for viewing orselection. When the match engine 104 has completed the filtering of thegame listing, the modified game listing may be passed to the game guide130.

In embodiments of the gaming server 802, the game infrastructure 820 mayprovide the administrative interfaces of the gaming application. Thegame infrastructure may include a security service 864, an accountmanager 868, a transaction module 870, a game hosting module 872, thegame portal 500, or the like. The game infrastructure 820 may interactwith the profile file 804 (e.g. economic profile 888 or accountinformation), game guide 130 (e.g. game hosting), the game site, or thelike. The game infrastructure 820 may also provide the game applicationservices to support the game guide 130 interface. In an embodiment, as auser selects a game from the game guide 130, the game request may bedirected to the game infrastructure 820 to determine the securitythresholds, initialize the e-wallet, access the game e-commerce, and thelike.

In an embodiment, the security service 864 may use the security settingsof the game infrastructure 820, the client browser 810, user definedsecurity, or the like. The security service 864 may interact with theuser profile in the profile file 804 and/or the client browser 810 tocreate the overall security settings. In an embodiment, the securitysettings may prevent a user from accessing a game that has securitybelow the overall security settings. In an embodiment, the gameinfrastructure 820 account manager 868 and transaction module 870 mayinteract with both the profile file 804 (to get economic profileinformation) and the game site (to establish the e-commerce for the userat the game site). For example, when the user selects a game in the gameguide 130, the request may be passed to the game infrastructure 820. Thegame infrastructure 820 may contact the game site to retrieve theparameters of the game site e-commerce system. The game infrastructure820 may then access the profile file 804 to gather the appropriateeconomic profile 888 information in order to initialize the accounts tobe used with the game site.

In an embodiment, the transaction module 870 of the gaming server mayprovide for all the e-commerce management between the user, the gamingapplication, and other gaming sites. The transaction module 870 mayprovide services such as user profile tracking, thus providing targetedadvertising/promotions to users, game site advertising, an agency systemto bring users to a game site, an affiliate system for revenue sharingwith game sites, aggregation of game information, a user e-walletsystem, merchandizing of game products to users, mining data from gamingapplication sites for monetizing information, a user subscriptionsystem, a certification and rating system for game sites, and the like.The transaction module 870 may manage the paid site information that ispresented to a user and may provide money management for the user in theform of a user e-wallet account. The transaction module 870 may trackthe user's gaming activities to determine the type of game the userplays, the amount of time spent playing, the amount of money spent on agame, and the like. This information may allow the transaction module870 to present the user with advertisements and gaming opportunitiesbased on past user gaming history and therefore may present apersonalized interface for the user.

The transaction module 870 may manage receiving of funds for gameadvertisements and placement of the advertisement on the gameapplication interface. The advertisements may include agency systemsthat may be used to direct users to certain game sites in return for afee. The gaming application interface may also include affiliate systemlinks that may be associated with game sites for connecting users togaming sites or for the forming of online tournaments. The affiliategame sites may pay a fee for the service of directing users to games orthe organization of game tournaments using affiliated games.

The transaction module 870 may provide for an aggregation of informationabout a game such as game news, game background, reviews, cheat codes,download information, and the like. This information may be available toa user prior to the user beginning the game. The transaction module 870may also provide certification and rating information for the game orgame sites that may be available in the game guide 130. The game or gamesite may pay a fee to have its game rated on the gaming applicationinterface. Merchandise related to a particular game or gaming site maybe provided to a user through the gaming application interface; themerchandise advertisement may be provided with a fee charged to themerchandise enterprise.

The transaction module 870 may provide management of a user e-walletaccount system that may allow a user to have accounts with user-definedmoney limits. The user may be able to set up an e-wallet account; thisaccount may be the account used to pay for games the user is playing.The user may use the e-wallet account instead of paying a game or gamesite directly by using a personal credit or debit card. This may providea level of security to the user in paying for gaming activities. Theremay be a method of adding money to the e-wallet account; the e-walletaccount may be associated with the user's credit or debit account. In anembodiment, the user may be able to set maximum and minimum money levelsfor the e-wallet account and may authorize the transaction module 870 tocharge the user's credit or debit card to maintain the set levels.

The transaction module 870 may provide for a subscription system forusers to establish a player profile to be used when playing onlinegames. The subscription may allow the user to set up a personalizedgaming profile and may also allow the setup of the user's e-walletaccount. The subscription may provide, for a fee, the user with a setamount of gaming time on predetermined games, a certain amount of gamingtime on any available game, or similar management of gaming.

The transaction module 870 may also mine data from the gamingapplication for the monetization of available user information.Information may be used to increase billing rates to advertisers,provide mailing lists, get new advertisers, establish new affiliations,or the like.

In an embodiment, the game hosting module 872 of the game infrastructure820 may be used to contact other users to indicate the forming of agame. The game hosting module 872 may maintain a database of userssearching for a certain type of game and may make users aware of theinterest in a game through the game guide 130. For example, a user mayelect to organize a hosted game, and the game hosting module may notifyall the interested users that a user has elected to organize a game. Inthis example, the game hosting module 872 may provide all of thenecessary game infrastructure to organize the game and maintain the gamewhile it is active. In an embodiment, the game hosting module 872 maysave the hosted game into the game index 102 to be available for futuregame searches by the search engine 122. In an embodiment, the user,through the game guide 130, may select to either join an existing gameor to host a game; the hosted game may either be a game that was set upin advance or an ad hoc game that may form in real time.

As shown in FIG. 8, the gaming server 802 may interface with othercomponents of the game applications, including the profile file 804, thegame index 102, the client browser 810 and the sponsors 812.

The gaming server 802 may interface with the profile file 804 forinformation about the user's gaming preferences, economic profile 888(e.g. e-commerce history), gaming history, accounts (e.g. e-wallet), andthe like. In an embodiment, the gaming server 802 may interface to theprofile file 804 through the network 800 using connections 824 and 832.In this case, the profile file 804 may be a separately maintained remotefile server. In another embodiment, the gaming server 802 may directlyinterface with the profile file 804 through connection 842. In thisembodiment, the profile file 804 may be connected to the gaming server802 through a LAN, WAN, or the like and may act as a local device forthe gaming server 802. In an embodiment, there may be a plurality ofprofile files 804 that may maintain information for each individualuser, or there may be one profile file 804 to maintain the informationfor all the users.

The gaming server 802 may interface with the game index 102 to eitherprovide a game listing as a result of a search or to get gameinformation as part of a user search. In an embodiment, the gamingserver 802 may interface with the game index 102 through the network 800using connections 824 and 828. In this case, the game index 102 may be aseparately maintained remote file server. In another embodiment, thegaming server 802 may directly interface with the game index 102 throughconnection 834. In this embodiment, the game index 102 may be connectedto the gaming server 802 through a LAN, WAN, or the like and may act asa local device for the gaming server 802. In an embodiment, there may bea plurality of game indexes 102 that may maintain information for eachindividual user, or there may be one game index 102 to maintain theinformation for all the users.

The gaming server 802 may interface with the client browser 810 toprovide the user with an interface to the gaming search, the gamehosting, and the like. In an embodiment, the gaming server 802 mayconnect to the client browser 810 using connections 824 and 830. In thisembodiment, the user may use the client browser 810 to access thenetwork 800 and connect to the gaming server 802; the game guide 130 maybe a plug-in application for the client browser 810. In anotherembodiment, the game guide 130 may be directly associated with thegaming server 802 using connection 844. In this embodiment, the gameguide 130 may be a local device connected to the gaming server 802; theconnection may be provided by a LAN, WAN, or the like. In this case, theclient browser may be used to access the gaming server 802 and may usethe gaming server 802 to access all the aspects of the gamingapplication. In this embodiment, the gaming server 802 may act as aportal to the client browser 810 where the user may request gamesearches, maintain personal preferences, play games, or the like.

The gaming server 802 may also access sponsors 812 for game hostinginformation, promotional information, game searches, and the like. Thegaming server 802 may be connected to the sponsors 812 through thenetwork 800 using connections 824 and 848. There may be a plurality ofsponsors 812 that are connected to the gaming server 802; each sponsormay connect through a connection similar to 824 and 848.

It should be understood that as the gaming server 802 is searching,matching, or the like, it may interact with any of the above describedcomponents to provide a seamless interface to the user. It should alsobe understood that any of the sub-components of the gaming server 802may be able to use any of the connections to the above describedcomponents. Therefore the search engine 122, the match engine 104, andthe game interface 820 may have access to the profile file 804, gameindex 102, client browser 810, sponsors 812, or the like.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the profile file 804 may provide storage accessto user profiles to other game application components such as the gamingserver 802, client browser 810, game guide 130, and the like. In anembodiment, the profile file 804 may be a remote file server that mayconnect through the network 800 to the other connected components. In anembodiment, the profile file 804 may be directly connected to the gamingserver 802 through a connection 842 or to the client browser 810 throughanother connection 840. The direct connections may be provided by a LAN,WAN, or the like. The profile file 804 may also be incorporated intoeither the gaming server 802 or the client browser 810 as a localdevice. In an embodiment, if the profile file 804 is incorporated intothe gaming server 802, it may store profiles on a plurality of users. Inan embodiment, if the profile file 804 is incorporated into the clientbrowser 810, it may store only a single user's profile data.

The profile file 804 may store the user's personal profile, gamehistory, or game account information. The profile file 804 may alsocontain the economic profile service 888 that may maintain the user'se-commerce and e-wallet information on the profile file 804.

In an embodiment, the economic profile service 888 may interface withthe gaming server 802 game infrastructure 820 to provide a user'se-commerce and e-wallet information at the request of the gameinfrastructure 820 account manager 868 or transaction module 870. Theeconomic profile service 888 may maintain e-commerce and e-walletinformation on the profile file 804; this information may be updatedcontinually, based on the user's gaming activities. In an embodiment,the economic profile service 888 may monitor the game infrastructure 820transaction module for the user's spending while playing a game. Forexample, the user may join a high stakes poker game with stakes that arehigher than previously played; this may modify the user's economicprofile. In an embodiment, the economic profile may be modified based onthe user's gaming activities or may be modified by the user. The usermay be able to modify the economic profile before a game, during a game,or after a game.

In an embodiment, the profile file 804 user profile may interface withthe gaming server 802 to store information about a user's gamingpreferences. For example, when a user creates a search using the searchengine 122, the search engine 122 may update the information about theuser's game preferences. The changes to the preferences may be based onthe player's searching for a new type of game, repeatedly searching forthe same type of game, or the like.

In another embodiment, the profile file 804 user profile may interfacewith the game guide 130 to store information about the user's gameselection. For example, the profile file 804 may already storeinformation about the type of poker game the user likes to play, but ifthe user starts to select a particular poker game site more often,indicating a preference for the site, the user profile may be updated bythe game guide 130 to indicate the preference for this type of pokergame. With the user profile updated, this preferred poker game site maybe presented with a high recommendation on the game guide listing whenthe user next searches for a poker game.

The profile file 804 may also store game history information about thegames the user may play. This information may include the number oftimes a game was played, the length of time the game was played (e.g.shortest time, longest time, and/or average time), a high score, whetherthe user is still an active player in a game, or the like. In anembodiment, the game history file may be updated by the gameinfrastructure 820 game hosting module when the user has finishedplaying a game; a completed game may be either a user playing tocompletion or the user leaving the game early.

The player history tracker may update the user's profile file 804 bytracking the user's gaming activities over time. The player historytracker may monitor the user's game related activities such as gamesplayed, game products purchased, game advertisements viewed, or thelike; it may update the preferences based on these activities. Theplayer history tracker may monitor game parameters such as game played,length of time played, game final score, quality of players in the game,number of players in the game, or the like.

The user profile file 804 and history tracker may provide information onthe user's past gaming behavior. These files may be influenced by thetype of game the user plays, the gaming sites the user visits, gamingreviews viewed, gaming products purchased, and the like.

In an embodiment, the game history may be accessed by the search engine122 before a game search is performed on the game index 102 in order toretrieve the user's most recent gaming search. The search engine 122 maythen use the game history as part of the search of the game index 102.

In an embodiment, the game history may interface with the game guide 130to provide a history of games played in order to rank games in the gameguide 130; the game rank may be provided in addition to the gamelisting.

In an embodiment, the game history may interface with the match engine104 for determining whether a game will remain in the game listing. Aspart of the match engine 104 recommendation service 858, the gamehistory may be accessed to provide a match with the user's most recentpreferences among games. The recommendation service 858 may use theuser's game history as one of the parameters for filtering the gamelisting.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the client browser 810 may be an interface bywhich the user may access the other aspects of the game applicationdescribed herein. The client browser 810 may be any browser capable ofinterfacing with the network 800. The client browser 810 may be on auser's computer device that may be connected to the network 800. Theclient browser 810 may have components of the game application as aplug-in or as an associated program that may executed by the clientbrowser 810.

In an embodiment, the game application depicted in FIG. 8 may include aclient/server application with the client browser 810 associated withthe game guide 130 component, where the game guide 130 may be a userinterface that presents a listing of the available games to the user. Inthe client/server application the client browser 810 may access thegaming server 802 for access to the search engine 122, match engine 104,game infrastructure 820, profile file 804, or game index 102.

In an embodiment, the game application depicted in FIG. 8 may be acomplete client application with the client browser 810 being associatedwith all game application components. For example, the client browser810 may include the game guide 130, search engine 122, match engine 104,and the game infrastructure 820. As a complete client application, theprofile file 804 and game index 102 may also be included in the clientbrowser 810.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, a client/server embodiment isshown with the client browser 810 associated with the game guide 130 andwith the game server 802 associated with the search engine 122, matchengine 104, and the game infrastructure 820. The client browser 810 mayinterface with the other game application components using the network800.

For example, the client browser 810 may interface with the gaming server802 through the network 800 using connections 830 and 824. Byinterfacing with the gaming server 802 the client browser 810 may haveaccess to any of the gaming server 802 components such as the searchengine 122, match engine 104, or game infrastructure 820.

In an embodiment, the client browser 810 may have access to the profilefile 804 through the network 800 using connections 830 and 832.

In an embodiment, the client browser 810 may have access to the gameindex 102 through the network 800 using connections 830 and 828.

In an embodiment, the client browser 810 may have access to the sponsors812 through the network 800 using connections 830 and 848. There may bea plurality of sponsors 812 connected to the network 800; the clientbrowser 810 may connect to any of the sponsors 812 using connectionssimilar to 830 and 848.

In an embodiment, the client browser 810 may be directly connected tothe game application components by either a LAN, WAN, or the like. Forexample, the client browser 810 may connect to the profile file 804 withconnection 840, the gaming server 802 with connection 844, the gameindex 102 with connection 838, or the like. There may not be any directconnection between the client browser 810 and the sponsors 812.

The client browser 810 may provide a user interface for a number of thegame application components that may allow the user to navigate tocomponents that permit user interaction. The user interactions may besearches, preference modification, account modification, or the like.Using the client browser 810, the user may be able to access the searchengine 122 search user interface to initiate a game search as describedabove. The user may also be able to access the e-commerce and e-walletfiles of the profile file 804 by accessing the game infrastructure 820account manager 868 or the transaction module 870. The user may be ableto transfer money to accounts, manage credit/debit card associations tothe e-wallet, set gaming monetary limits, and the like. Using the clientbrowser 810, the user also may be able to access the profile file 804directly to make these changes. Using the client browser 810, the usermay be able to access any of the game portal capabilities of the gamingserver 802 such as game hosting, sponsor links, gaming advertisements,gaming merchandise, or the like.

In an embodiment, the client browser 810 may be associated with the gameguide 130, a user interface that may present game choices to the user.As shown in FIG. 8, the game guide 130 may include sub-components suchas game results 874, advertisements 878, links 880, sponsor links 882,query capabilities 884, or the like. These sub-components may be viewedby the user as one large user interface or may be viewed as a pluralityof screens and menus to be navigated.

The game guide 130 may include a user interface where the final gamesearch results 874, after searching and matching, are displayed. Thegame guide 130 may present a listing of games to the user that mayinclude information about match quality, game name, game description,game rating, game schedule, game level, game cost, and the like. Theuser may be able to sort the game listing by any of the provided columnsof information. For example, the user may wish to view the games orderedby the games rating or by the schedule time. The user may be able tosort by more than one column in order to view the games in the user'spreferred order. The game guide 130 may also present the available gamesby medium type such as Internet game, mobile game, cable game, and thelike.

The game guide 130 may provide a match quality value that may be aresult of the combined information from the user search, the matchinglayers, user profile, and the like. The match quality value may presenta rating such as a number rating, letter rating, star rating, or otherrating method to indicate a range varying from excellent to poor.

The game guide 130 may provide a hyperlink 880 to any of the gameslisted in the game guide. To initiate a game, the user may only have toclick on the desired game hyperlink 880 to open the game. In anembodiment, the game may open as a separate instance, leaving the gamingapplication running to allow the user access to any information in thegaming application.

The game guide 130 may also allow the user to filter the games listed toshow only games or types of games in which the user is interested. Thegame guide 130 may provide preset filters such as similar skill levels,game cost, time of game, and the like. The user may also be able toenter a custom filter requirement.

The game guide 130 may also allow the user to arrange a game in an adhoc manner. The user may be able to pick the game to play and to inviteother users to play the game. The user may provide a time for the gameto begin and may define game parameters for the invited users.

The game guide 130 may allow the user to modify the user's profile file804, which may result in the game listing being refreshed and mayproduce differences in the game listing results.

In an embodiment, the game guide 130 may include among the game results874, for example, the final filtered and matched game listing that ispresented to the user. As discussed above, the user may have started thegame result process by creating a search using the search engine 122.The search engine 122 may create a listing of games matching the user'ssearch request and pass the list to the matching engine 104 for matchingto the user's game preference. The resulting game listing may bedisplayed as a matched/filtered game list in the result 874 table in thegame guide 130. The gaming result 874 table may allow the user to selecta game to be played by selecting a game link; this process is furtherdiscussed below.

In an embodiment, the game guide 130 may include advertisements 878 thatmay be displayed as associated or not associated with games in theresults 874 table. The game guide 130 may manage advertisements 878displayed by sponsors 812. The advertisements 878 from the sponsors 812may be a result of a sponsored game in the result 874 table or may besponsor links 882 to advertise future games to be played. Theadvertisements 878 may be in addition to any sponsor information orlinks that may be displayed on the client browser 810 through theconnection with the gaming server 802.

In an embodiment, the game guide 130 may contain links 880 to games. Thelinks 880 may be integral to the game listing in the result 874 table.In an embodiment, the game listing may be passed to the game guide 130from the matching engine 104; the game guide 130 may create the result874 table by combining the game listing with the gaming links 880. Thegame links 880 may allow the user to navigate directly to the game siteby selecting the game link 880.

In an embodiment, the game guide 130 may contain sponsor links 882 thatmay link to sponsored games or to sponsors' game sites. The sponsors 812may pay a fee for the sponsor links 882 to be associated with the gameguide 130. The sponsor links 882 may allow direct access to the sponsorgames or sponsor site. In an embodiment, the sponsor link 882 may beincorporated into the result 874 table. If a game in the game listing isa sponsored game, the result 874 table may provide a sponsor link 882 inthe result 874 table in addition to the game link.

In an embodiment, the user may be able to query, sort, or filter thegame guide 130 game result 874 table. The game result 874 table may bepresented to the user with a number of columns, such as ranking, numberof users playing the game, game cost, game time of day, or the like. Theuser may be able to query, sort, or filter the result 874 table to viewthe result 874 table in the order that is of interest to the user. Forexample, the user may be able to query the result 874 table about allgames that start after 8 pm and cost less than $20 to play; the resultmay be that the matching games may be displayed to the user. In asimilar manner, the user may be able to indicate columns to be sortedand the order in which the columns are to be sorted.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the game index 102 may be a file that contains alisting of all the games that may be of interest to the user; the gameindex 102 may be a database, a table, a relational database, a flatfile, an ASCII file, an XML file, or the like. The game index 102 may bea searchable file that the search engine 122 may search in response to auser's game search request. The user may access the search engine 122using the client browser 810 to input a search request. The searchengine 122 may then connect to the game index 102 to search for gamesmatching the user's game search.

In an embodiment, the game index 102 may be a separately maintained fileserver that may connect to the other game application components eitherthrough a network 800 connection or by direct connection. The game index102 may be accessed by other components through the network 800 usingconnection 828 and the network connection of the other components, suchas connections 824, 830, or 832.

In an embodiment, the game index 102 may be incorporated into either thegaming server 802 or the client browser 810; the incorporation may be aconnection by LAN, WAN, or the like. The game index 102 may connectdirectly to the gaming server 802 using connection 834 or to the clientbrowser 810 using connection 838.

As discussed above, the search engine 122 network crawler 704 may storethe game search results in the game index 102; the stored games may be aresult of the network crawler 704 searching among known gaming sites forgames of interest to the user as defined by the user's profile andgaming history. For example, the search engine 122 may connect to thegame index 102 to search for games matching the user's search request.

In an embodiment, the game index 102 may have housekeeping capabilitiesto remove games from the game index 102 when the user's preferences inthe profile file 804 change. In an embodiment, a user may use the clientbrowser 810 to access and modify the user's profile stored in theprofile file 804. The change in the user's preferences may send arequest to the game index 102 to remove games from the game index 102that do not match the user's preferences.

The online game index 102 may provide an aggregation of all gaming sitesthat may be available to users as defined by their profiles. The users'profile may be data files that may include games that have been played,game network sites visited, advertisements viewed, game productspurchased, or the like. The profile of an individual user may be a filein which the user defines the type of games that the user prefers toplay. The profile file 804 may be updated over time based on the user'sgaming activities. An online gaming site may be any available game thatcan be accessed by the user's computer device through a networkconnection (e.g. Internet, LAN, WAN, or the like). The available gamesmay exist on a user's own computer device, on a network 800, or on aconnected console game such as Xbox, Playstation, Game Cube, or thelike. Any game that is accessible from a user's computer device may beconsidered an online game and therefore may be in the online game index102.

The online game index 102 may provide a listing of all the games thatmeet the user's gaming, time, and cost profiles or preferences. Theonline game index 102 may be a searchable database, table, text file,relational database, XML file, or the like. The online game index 102may consist of a listing of the games or game sites that may have gamesin which the user may be interested.

The online game index 102 may continually update the game listing byinterfacing with the player behavior system 854, player profile file804, and player history data. The online game index 102 may beinitialized with a user defined set of parameters, games, network sites,or the like that the user may prefer to play. The online game index 102may also initialize the online game index 102 by scanning the user'scomputer device for previously played games or network sites visited.Once the online game index 102 has been initialized, the online gameindex 102 may incorporate a network crawler 704 to search the user'scomputer device network connection. The online game index 102 may usethe initialized information about the user to begin the search foronline gaming that may meet the user's profile.

The process of updating the online game index 102 may be ongoing; theonline game index 102 can be continually updated as the network crawler704 finds new network sites and online games. The network crawler 704may find new games by discovering a new game network link on a networksite previously found or may look for new games when the user's profileis updated. The player's profile file 888 may be updated based on gamesthe user has played, game sites the user has visited, gameadvertisements viewed, game products purchased, or the like. The usermay also revise the profile file 804 to include a new type of game or anew variation of a game the user already plays. The online game index102 may continually review the user profile file 804 for updates; whenupdates are detected, the online game index 102 may add the new gameinformation to the network crawler 704 for additional game searches onthe user's computer device connected to a network. The network crawler704 may also search for a game to be added to the online game index 102if the search request from the user does not match any previouslyrequested game or game type.

Games catalogued within the online game index 102 may be accessed byusing the search engine 122. The search engine 122 may initiate a searchfor user-requested games within the known games of the online game index102. For example, the user may interact with the search engine 122 userinterface 852 to perform a search of the online game index 102 to find agame matching one of the user's search requirements. The search engine122 may interact and retrieve information from the player profile file804 and may combine this information with the user's search request tofind the games which best match the user. The user may be able toprovide input into at least one search field of the search userinterface 852 as a natural language text string, a game name, a gametype, a game player type (e.g. single player or multi-player), or thelike to begin the search for a game. The search engine 122 may use thenatural language translator for converting the natural language requestinto a search string that may be compatible with the online game index102. The user may be able to input information into more than one of thesearch fields to provide a more specific game search or may enterinformation into only one search field to possibly provide the mostgeneric game search.

The search engine 122 may search the online game index 102 using aplurality of search types such as the natural language search, thesemantic search, the contextual search, or the like. The search engine122 may perform a search on only one search field or may combinemultiple search fields to provide the broadest game search for the user.The user may provide an indication of the priority of the matchingsequence when more than one search field is entered. For example, theuser may provide a number or letter sequence to indicate which is thefirst, second, or third search field to use in the game search.

The search engine 122 may also search for affiliate or agency paidgames, and the affiliate or agency may pay a fee for the affiliate oragency game to be added to the user's search results.

The search engine 122 may provide a user interface 852 for enteringinformation to search the online game index 102. The search engine 122may also be able to search the user's computer device connected networkfor games meeting the search parameters. This network search performedby the search engine 122 may be instead of or in combination with thesearch of the online game index 102.

In certain embodiments, the gaming application may provide the gameportal 500 that may provide the connections to a network 800. In anembodiment, the portal 500 may provide access to network links such asnetwork gaming, gaming information, gaming reviews, cheat codes, chatrooms, gaming products, gaming product information and news, paidadvertising, or the like.

The gaming portal 500 may access the player profile file 804 to trackthe user's gaming behavior; this may allow the game portal 500 toactivate or deactivate different links to match the user's profile. Theportal may be able to dynamically load and build network pages topresent to the user based on the media type with which the user isconnected such as broadband access, mobile access, or the like.

The gaming portal 500 may contain a meta-menu that may allow users tomaintain access to the gaming application site information and functionswhile playing a game at another site. The meta-menu may be shown as atop level menu over the game, as a window on the game, as a popup menuwith a certain key press, or the like.

It will be appreciated by skilled artisans that embodiments of theonline gaming applications described herein are compatible with anynumber of online games that users may wish to play. Online gamescompatible with these gaming applications may be played for a fee or maybe free, depending on the game site and game complexity. Online gamescompatible with these gaming applications may be single player gamesthat may have the user trying to attain a high score or pitting the useragainst the computer. Other online games compatible with these gamingapplications may be multiplayer games that may have a significant numberof players from around the world playing at once. Online gamescompatible with these gaming applications may include card games, boardgames, word games, mobile games, action games, role playing games,sports, strategy/tactical games, arcade games, simulation games, and thelike.

Online card games compatible with these gaming applications may rangefrom free child-type games to high stakes poker and blackjack games.Online card games compatible with these gaming applications may besingle player games such as solitaire or multiplayer games with manyplayers world wide. Online card games compatible with these gamingapplications may include spades, canasta, poker, solitaire, hearts,blackjack, bridge, gin, go fish, pinochle, or the like.

Poker may have many different variations that may be played online suchas Texas Hold'em, 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud, Omaha, Chinese, 5 Card Draw,Lowball, Crazy Pineapple, and the like, any and all of which may becompatible with these gaming applications. Online poker games compatiblewith these gaming applications may be played for free or may also beplayed on large game sites with many players for various stakes, andeach game may be defined by the specific gambling stakes.

Solitaire may have many different variations that may be played onlinesuch as Klondike, Freecell, Spider, Golf, Pyramid, Aces and Kings,Cruel, Yukon, or the like, any and all of which may be compatible withthese gaming applications. Solitaire games compatible with these gamingapplications are often played for free but may also be played for a fee.

Online board games compatible with these gaming applications includecomputer versions of typical board games such as chess, dominoes,backgammon, Mah Jong, bingo, checkers, go, or the like. These onlineboard games may be free plays, but some of the board games such aschess, backgammon, go, or the like may be for fee and may be played intournament play.

Online word games compatible with these gaming applications maytypically be played for free and may include word jumbles, scrabble,crossword puzzles, or the like.

Mobile games compatible with these gaming applications may be versionsof online games formatted for mobile computer devices such as PDAs, cellphones, or the like. The mobile games may have a restricted selection ofgames based on the required small format but may include solitaire,dominoes, hearts, arcade games, action games, card games, or the like.These games may be played for free or as a fee based game. Mobile gamescompatible with these gaming applications may be played as downloadedgames or may be online games using a mobile network connection.

Action games compatible with these gaming applications may be a type ofgame that a user may play in a simulated environment against a computer,usually attempting to avoid obstacles and collect bonuses. The actiongames typically may have an overall objective to achieve such as“capturing the bad guy.” Action games may include Aliens vs. Predator,America's Army: Special Forces, the Battlefield series, Call of Duty,Deer Hunter, Descent 3, Devastation, the Half-life series, Halo, JediKnight, the Medal of Honor series, Quake, Return to Castle Wolfenstein,SWAT 4, the Soldier of Fortune series, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Tribesseries, the Unreal Tournament series, Vietcong, the Wolfenstein series,or the like.

Role playing games compatible with these gaming applications may have auser assume a character of the game and may join other characters tocomplete a particular objective. The user may typically play with otherplayers that also have assumed roles within the game. Depending on thegame, the other players may either be on the same side as or differentside from the user. The characters of the role playing games may havepredefined character traits, or a user may be able to enhance thecharacter's traits by continued playing. A user may be able to save acharacter's traits and later join a game in progress using the savedcharacter traits. Online role playing games may include Baldur's Gate,Deus Ex, Lionheart, Neverwinter Nights, or the like.

Online sports games compatible with these gaming applications may besimulations of real life sports and may try to closely simulate the reallife game or may be an exaggeration of the real life sports game. A usermay typically control a key person, a vehicle, or the like in the onlinesports game and try to beat a computerized competitor, or the user maybe matched against other players controlling another key person,vehicle, or the like. Online sports games may include the Deer Hunterseries, the Dirt Track Racing series, F1 Challenge, High Heat Baseball,the Links series, the Midnight Outlaw series, Midtown Madness, MotoGP,Motocross, Madness, the NASCAR series, the NFL Fever series, Need forSpeed, Pro Bass Fishing, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, or the like.

Online strategy and tactical games compatible with these gamingapplications may be games with large scope that may be designed torequire strategy over fast pace. These games may require a user tocommand many different aspects of the game, such as commanding an entirearmy, to achieve an overall objective. The user may be required to takeactions toward the objective while other users or the computer may makesimilar actions to stop the objective from being completed. Onlinestrategy and tactical games may include Age of Empires, Age of Wonders,Army Men, Axis & Allies, Civilization, Close Combat, Command & Conquer,Conquest, Empire Earth, Kohan, MechCommander, Medieval, Myth III,Railroad Tycoon, Real War, Rise of Nations, Soldiers, Star Trek, StarWars, Stronghold, Total Annihilation, or the like.

Online arcade games compatible with these gaming applications may beintended to simulate arcade games that may be found in a real arcade.These games may typically be played as a single player, but the gamesmay track the high scores of players over time. Arcade games may includeBreakout, Pac man, Pinball, or the like.

Online simulation games compatible with these gaming applications mayintend to provide activity as close as possible to a real experience.These games may simulate controls and communications very similar to thecontrols and communications of the real activity. These games may try tosimulate planes, cars, ships, or the like. Online simulation games mayinclude Combat Flight Simulator, the Jane's series, Microsoft FlightSimulator series, Race Driver 2, or the like.

The elements depicted in flow charts and block diagrams throughout thefigures imply logical boundaries between the elements. However,according to software or hardware engineering practices, the depictedelements and the functions thereof may be implemented as parts of amonolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, or asmodules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth, orany combination of these, and all such implementations are within thescope of the present disclosure. Thus, while the foregoing drawings anddescription set forth functional aspects of the disclosed systems, noparticular arrangement of software for implementing these functionalaspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitlystated or otherwise clear from the context.

Similarly, it will be appreciated that the various steps identified anddescribed above may be varied, and that the order of steps may beadapted to particular applications of the techniques disclosed herein.All such variations and modifications are intended to fall within thescope of this disclosure. As such, the depiction and/or description ofan order for various steps should not be understood to require aparticular order of execution for those steps, unless required by aparticular application, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from thecontext.

The methods or processes described above, and steps thereof, may berealized in hardware, software, or any combination of these suitable fora particular application. The hardware may include a general-purposecomputer and/or dedicated computing device. The processes may berealized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embeddedmicrocontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or otherprogrammable device, along with internal and/or external memory. Theprocesses may also, or instead, be embodied in an application specificintegrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic,or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured toprocess electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that one ormore of the processes may be realized as computer executable codecreated using a structured programming language such as C, an objectoriented programming language such as C++, or any other high-level orlow-level programming language (including assembly languages, hardwaredescription languages, and database programming languages andtechnologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on oneof the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations ofprocessors, processor architectures, or combinations of differenthardware and software.

Thus, in one aspect, each method described above and combinationsthereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executingon one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In anotheraspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the stepsthereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, orall of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalonedevice or other hardware. In another aspect, means for performing thesteps associated with the processes described above may include any ofthe hardware and/or software described above. All such permutations andcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferredembodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications andimprovements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention isnot to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood inthe broadest sense allowable by law.

All documents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. A method of computer game query, comprising: receiving a user'scomputer game query, the query including indicia of a user's preferenceswith respect to computer games; searching at least one database andreturning computer games that match the user's query; filtering thereturned computer games using at least one user game preference; andpresenting the filtered returned computer games to the user.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the computer game is an online poker game. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the computer game query is a naturallanguage text string.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computergame query is a semantic search.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecomputer game query is a contextual search.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the computer game query is a game type.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the computer game query is a game player type.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the at least one database is remotely located on anetwork.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network is an Internet.10. The method of claim 8, wherein the network is a local area network(LAN).
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the network is a wide areanetwork (WAN).
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the network is apeer-to-peer network.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone database is locally located on a computer device.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the computer device is a desktop computer.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the computer device is a laptop computer.16. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer device is a tabletcomputer.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer device is aserver.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer device is ahandheld computer.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the computerdevice is a cell phone.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the user gamepreference is a time of day.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the usergame preference is a length of time available for play.
 22. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user game preference is a preferred cost ofgames.
 23. The method of claim 1, wherein the user game preference is agame's reputation.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the user gamepreference is a user game parameter.
 25. The method of claim 1, whereinthe user game preference is a game invitation.
 26. The method of claim1, wherein the user game preference is a game indicator.
 27. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user game preference is an online identity. 28.The method of claim 1, wherein the user game preference is a game'spopularity.
 29. The method of claim 1, wherein the user game preferenceis a paid keyword.
 30. The method of claim 1, wherein the user gamepreference is a paid game.
 31. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying the presented filtered games in a graphical user interface(GUI).
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the GUI presents the filteredgames in a predefined order based on user game preference.
 33. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the GUI presents the filtered games in auser defined order. 34-157. (canceled)
 158. A system of computer gamequery, comprising: a user's computer game query, the query includingindicia of a user's preferences with respect to computer games; at leastone database and returning computer games from a search of the at leastone database that match the user's query; the returned computer gamesfiltered using at least one user game preference; and the filteredreturned computer games returned to the user.
 159. The system of claim158, wherein the computer game is an online poker game.
 160. The systemof claim 158, wherein the computer game query is a natural language textstring.
 161. The system of claim 158, wherein the computer game query isa semantic search.
 162. The system of claim 158, wherein the computergame query is a contextual search.
 163. The system of claim 158, whereinthe computer game query is a game type.
 164. The system of claim 158,wherein the computer game query is a game player type.
 165. The systemof claim 158, wherein the at least one database is remotely located on anetwork.
 166. The system of claim 165, wherein the network is anInternet.
 167. The system of claim 165, wherein the network is a localarea network (LAN).
 168. The system of claim 165, wherein the network isa wide area network (WAN).
 169. The system of claim 165, wherein thenetwork is a peer-to-peer network.
 170. The system of claim 158, whereinthe at least one database is locally located on a computer device. 171.The system of claim 170, wherein the computer device is a desktopcomputer.
 172. The system of claim 170, wherein the computer device is alaptop computer.
 173. The system of claim 170, wherein the computerdevice is a tablet computer.
 174. The system of claim 170, wherein thecomputer device is a server.
 175. The system of claim 170, wherein thecomputer device is a handheld computer.
 176. The system of claim 170,wherein the computer device is a cell phone.
 177. The system of claim158, wherein the user game preference is a time of day.
 178. The systemof claim 158, wherein the user game preference is a length of timeavailable for play.
 179. The system of claim 158, wherein the user gamepreference is a preferred cost of games.
 180. The system of claim 158,wherein the user game preference is a game's reputation.
 181. The systemof claim 158, wherein the user game preference is a user game parameter.182. The system of claim 158, wherein the user game preference is a gameinvitation.
 183. The system of claim 158, wherein the user gamepreference is a game indicator.
 184. The system of claim 158, whereinthe user game preference is an online identity.
 185. The system of claim158, wherein the user game preference is a game's popularity.
 186. Thesystem of claim 158, wherein the user game preference is a paid keyword.187. The system of claim 158, wherein the user game preference is a paidgame.
 188. The system of claim 158, further comprising the presentedfiltered games displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI).
 189. Thesystem of claim 188, wherein the GUI presents the filtered games in apredefined order based on user game preference.
 190. The system of claim188, wherein the GUI presents the filtered games in a user definedorder. 191-314. (canceled)